


Which Of Us

by PaleNoFace



Series: Space Boyfriends [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Couch Cuddles, Cuddling & Snuggling, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Galra Keith (Voltron), I really love them, I'm Sorry Keith, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mentions of Other Voltron Paladins, Non-Human Humanoid Society, Pets, Sleepy Cuddles, Slow To Update, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, fight me, heats are no fun, honestly this is some weird shit, i sailed with this ship so i'm going down with it, listen, you can take klance from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-07-07 19:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15914658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaleNoFace/pseuds/PaleNoFace
Summary: Because in this world Humans, Alteans and Galras aren't the dominant species, Keith has to fight for his freedom : taken away from his territory, he doesn't imagine that home can be something else than a dirty backstreet.And yet.





	1. Chapter 1

Keith wasn't a stranger to the streets. Hell, they'd been his home, his territory since basically forever. He knew every turn, every dark alley, every place where he could find food like the back of his hand. He knew how to hide away when Geans came his way, and maybe that was this overconfidence that pushed him to make a mistake.

 

In his defense, he even thought it was weird to find a whole piece of cooked meat in the back of a box, but he was upset and starving and sleep deprived and just went for it. Obviously, the trap got triggered and he found himself stuck in a metallic cage with four Geans gathering around him, and no matter how hard he hissed and threw himself against the walls, they didn't let go of him.

 

As he got put in the back of a truck, he thought of Shiro, who would never have fallen for this kind of trick, being too paranoid for even getting close to this type of food. He had a thought for Lotor, too, who would have mocked him for getting caught so easily, and they would have fought like they usually did and everything would have been normal again. He thought about his mom, about Kolivan, about Ulaz and Thace, about Regris and Antok and how he would probably never see them again because the Geans were about to kill him. At this moment, he really felt like crying.

 

He didn't die, surprisingly enough. They brought him in a clean place, put him on a table so high that he got dizzy just looking down, and checked his whole body. Once they seemed tired to pull and yank him in every direction possible, they poked at him some more with a needle, earning another fit of hisses, even if it was obviously ineffective. They then plopped him down a sink and washed him, not even aknowledging his efforts to fight the giant hands rubbing energetically through his hair and on his skin.

 

He eventually got too tired to fight and just let them do whatever they wanted, and before he knew it he was wrapped in a fluffy towel, just tight enough that he couldn't move his limbs. It had a strange effect on him, going all boneless and just letting them dry him carefully. In a matter of minutes, Keith had been cleaner than he'd ever been his entire life.

 

For a few days, he's been staying there, in the clean place, jumping every time a Gean stepped too close, running away when they tried to pet him, but slowly letting the fact that they didn't want to kill him sink in. Then, one day, a new Gean came in, wearing a colorful shirt instead of the green scrubs everyone had so far. That one was louder, taller, brighter. Keith just wanted them to go away and let him sleep in peace in the nest he finally managed to build, but the Gean walked right to him, to him specifically and no other Human or Galra Keith knew had been drowsing around in the room, and he knew he was fucked.

 

The Gean was very, very tall, even for one of their species. Their four eyes, shining bright green, followed him around the room when he tried to hide away, and their four arms went to grab him before he could even make a move. Keith shivered when the grey, cool skin met his, but the embrace was gentle, not constricting in any way and he allowed them to pet him for a little while. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but it was nice to have contact that wasn't for medical attention.

 

The Gean came back the next day, and the day after, and the one after. Every time they went directly for Keith, ignoring Matt and Pidge making funny faces to catch their attention, or Hunk asking quietly for affection by rubbing himself against the Gean's leg. He got a few pats out of it, but Keith really seemed to be the one interesting them, which was a weird feeling for him. Keith considered the idea that it was maybe for his looks : after all, hybrids were fairly rare, even more when they were a perfect middle ground like him. Maybe the Gean really just liked purple hair and yellow eyes.

 

The next week, he got dragged against his will into another painfully long check-up, at the end of what he found himself wearing a collar, which put him in a very bad mood. Pidge and Matt immediately started poking at it, wondering if they could take it off him, but soon enough it appeared clear to everyone that the lock wasn't pickable, not without adapted tools. Hunk and the siblings scented him the best they could to comfort him. Keith was glad they were there, even if he didn't say anything.

 

Soon after, the Gean came again, this time carrying a cage with them, and Keith recoiled immediately, his last memories of being transported not being the more pleasant, but the giant creature was having none of it and pushed him inside, although infinitely kind in the process. His friends gathered around the door of his transport cage, trying their best to calm him down, but even that couldn't stop him from freaking out. He had no idea where he was going, or if he was going to come back, or even live long enough to see the end of the day.

 

"Maybe they had pity of you and they plan to release you in your territory," Pidge had said, trying to sound hopeful, but her words where tainted with a sadness she couldn't hide.

 

The Gean eventually lifted the cage, pat Hunk one last time on the head and left the room with Keith.

 

Keith knew what cars were. Shiro almost got ran over by one, once, and it was enough for him to stay away from these noisy abominations. He never thought he'd see the day he would be put in one of them - the shelter's truck didn't count, since he was in the back the whole time.

 

But now ? The Gean had strapped his cage in the front seat, and from where he was sitting Keith could see the landscape passing fast through the window. He got somewhat enraptured in it and jumped when the Gean killed the engine and opened their door. A few seconds later, they were on the other side of the car, untying the cage from the safety belt and carrying Keith inside the house the stopped by.


	2. Chapter 2

As the door opened and slammed shut, Lance's long ears perked up in interest. Dael had been out of the house very frequently these last days, and Lance was lowkey terrified that they were avoiding him. He padded down the stairs, jumping down the last steps on the ground with a loud thud and rushing to the entrance, just in time to see the giant creature toeing their shoes off. Lance's face lightened and he leaped forward, throwing himself between Dael's long legs and squealing when the latter smiled and pat him right where he liked it.

 

That's when Lance noticed the box next to the door. His ears went down as he squinted, trying to understand out the meaning of this. Dael smirked, their saw-tooth mouth pulling up when Lance turned to them with a puzzled look, and ruffled his hair. Something, inside of the cage shifted and Lance hissed a warning, stepping back carefully in case it could reach him between the bars. Behind him, Gael huffed a laugh as they disappeared in the kitchen and closed the door, leaving Lance alone with whatever was in that box.

 

After a few minutes in complete silence, he stepped a little closer. Just a bit. The other shifted again. Lance stepped closer. Another ruffle. He leaned forward to look inside and got suddenly hissed at, so he hissed right back. A new silence. Then the person inside the cage pushed the safety blanket aside, and he could finally take a good look at them.

 

_Oh._

 

Lance wasn't familiar with Galras. If anything, he knew he had to be careful around them, avoid them as much as possible because those guys were everything but nice to Alteans like him. But this one right there ? They were terrified, despite the hard look they tried to put on. Their eyes were looking everywhere frantically, trying to find somewhere to hide, somewhere to escape. They hands clasped and unclasped in the blanket, claws too small to do any actual damage to it, though.

 

He wondered if it was the first time they got in a Gean's house. By the look of their overgrown hair, they were a stray, it wouldn't shock him that it was actually the case. So he did the thing he was the best at : being friendly and chatting his head off. So he sat there, just out of reach in case the Galra -half Galra, now that he was thinking of it- decided to slash his throat or anything similar. But once he was done, sitting nicely with his legs crossed on the floor, he realized he had no idea where to start.

 

"Hi," he said.

 

The other growled and retreated in the darkness of the cage. Oh boy, that was going to be a long day.

 

"The name is Lance. What is yours ?" he asked, but as he got no response he continued. "I guess you're here because you've been rescued, uh. I've been rescued too, from a kennel, it was Hell. A particularly crowded Hell. Anyway. You're pretty lucky Dael picked you, in my opinion. There aren't a lot of Geans ready to take in strays. Dael is good, though. They like affection. I hope you like heavy petting because _boy_ , you haven't seen the end of it."

 

He stifled a laugh, remembering his very first week home when he was too terrified to sleep on his own and Dael allowed him to sleep in their bed. Now that Lance was a lot more comfortable around the house he just used to sleep pretty much everywhere, with or without Dael.

 

"Also, they're very attentive, like, you don't like a certain food ? They'll try something else for the next meal. And I can show you around, too, if it helps you easing up. There are a bunch of rooms we aren't allowed in, though, but I'll tell you about them later. Have you-"  
"Do you ever shut up ?" the Galra snapped.  
"There he is," Lance smiled. "For a second I thought you couldn't understand me."  
"Shut up. Just- Stop talking, okay."  
"Tell me your name and I'll close my mouth," Lance offered.

 

The half-breed glared at him but at least they weren't hiding in the back of the box anymore, and Lance lived out of small victories.

 

"I'm Keith."  
"Hello, Keith," he smiled brightly and offered his hand.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Keith had been told to stay careful around Alteans. He knew they were tricksters and he shouldn't trust them, but this one... Lance, was it ? Yeah, him. He seemed nice. Naively grinning like a kid who just got rewarded with a cookie. There was no mischief in his tone, no threat in his voice. There was just something so genuine in this guy... It somehow rubbed Keith the wrong way. They were closed in a tiny space with no way out, and this Altean looked way too happy about it. But Keith really wanted to trust him. That was stupid, objectively, but he was tempted to trust anything coming from this man. And he knew he shouldn't. He knew he should just look for a way to escape, but... Maybe he could play along. Just for some time, just so him and the Gean would let their guard down. Then he would sneak out.

 

Hm. That sounded like a plan.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Lance looked up at the kitchen door, cracked open as Dael passed their head in the entrance. Their four eyes blinked slowly one after the other as they took in the scene in front of them. They glanced at Lance, then at the cage, then at the hands linked in-between. They smiled, their razor sharp teeth catching the light, and walked over. In a matter of seconds, the cage was open and Keith was cautiously taking a step out. Lance offered his hand again, helping him up on his feet -was Keith even a male ? He sounded like a male.

 

"Wow, you're... tiny," Lance commented. "Isn't that weird for a Galra ?"  
"Half-Galra," Keith grumbled, glaring at the ground.

 

As Dael opened wide the kitchen door, he dragged Keith behind him, the latter still reluctantly following, and pushed him to seat near the small table in the corner. The table was barely high enough for them to slip their legs under it, but Lance liked sitting on the ground anyway. The Galra raised an eyebrow at the pillow he landed on and Lance had to physically fight his own laugh because he looked so lost, it was hilarious.

 

"What is this ?"  
"A pillow," Lance replied matter-of-factly. "So your butt don't freeze on the tiles during winter."  
"But it's spring," Keith frowned as he poked at the plump object under him.  
"It's confortable," he shrugged. "Isn't that enough of a reason to seat on it ?"  
" _I guess_ ," Keith admitted with an eye-roll.

 

Dael shuffled in the fridge, coming back with a couple of cold pouches that Lance squealed excitedly for as he made grabby hands. He gave one to his new companion, who sniffed it with careful curiosity.

 

"What..?" he started, but got interrupted by the sound of Lance slurping loudly from his own. "Oh my God."

 

The Altean simply made an inquisitive noise as he kept sucking on the plastic container, his long ears flipping contently, his golden marks brightening considerably with each gulp.

 

"What the fuck ?" Keith hissed and pulled away from the small table.  
"What ?" Lance hummed, still gnawing into the pouch.  
"Why the fuck are you glowing ?"

 

Lance licked carefully his fingers, not wanting to waste any drop, before answering.

 

"Calm down, Mullet, geez. It's only apple juice."  
"Your glow is fueled by apple juice ?" the other frowned.  
"I really, really like apple juice," Lance hummed. "Are you drinking yours or..?"

 

Keith glared at him again and snatched the remaining apple juice from the table, hissing in distrust as he curled up in the corner of the room.

 

"Dude, you Galras are weirdos," Lance whistled, looking up at Dael who busied themself around the room.  
"Half-Galra," Keith reminded him, chewing on the plastic.  
"Sure," he shrugged with another easy smile. "I'm Altean. Just putting that out there, in case you didn't notice."  
"I'm aware. Aren't you guys shapeshifters or something ?"

 

As a response, Lance shrunk drastically and turned purple, his golden marks more noticeable now that they weren't melting into his brown complexion.

 

"...Creepy," Keith muttered, despite eyeing him up and down with barely hidden curiosity.  
"I can do that, too."

 

He started to grow, pulling on his height as much as he could, turned grey and molded his mouth into a zigzagging line, two blue patches mimicking a second pair of eyes. Dael snorted a laugh from the larger table they were sitting at, benevolently looking at them.

 

"I can turn into almost everything humanoid," Lance affirmed proudly as he morphed back into his normal self. "Isn't that cool ?"

 

Keith had to admit, even if begrudgingly, that it was indeed pretty cool.


	3. Chapter 3

The first night had been nerve-wrecking for Keith. Lance had been sleeping since long, his head resting on Dael's lap as the Gean pat him distractedly, focused on the TV, while Keith was sitting being a potted plant. They didn't try to touch Keith, fortunately for him, because he didn't know if he could manage any sort of physical contact at this point. The whole day had been a lot to process. He felt adrenaline buzzing under his skin, keeping him awake and nervous. He waited for the Gean to go to sleep to look around.

 

He started with the entry. As he suspected, the door's handle was way too out of reach, even jumping, unless he found something to climb on. He turned back, looking at everything thoroughly. On each side, embedded in the wall, where standing tall closets and, in front of the door, was the staircase leading upstairs. He pushed the door on his left and examinated the kitchen. The countertops, obviously thought for Geans, were also too high for him, as was the dinner table and the fridge. The only thing at his dimensions, really, was the small table with the blue cushions in the corner. He considered climbing onto it to reach the lower glass panel of the window, before deciding against it. He had nothing to protect himself from glass shattering. He wasn't in a hurry anyway.

 

He made his way to the back of the kitchen, where it met with the living room. He realized then that the first floor was really just a loop around the staircase, and that it was maybe repeating on the other floors. He didn't know if it was a useful information. He didn't know if any information was useful at all, really. He went back to the living room, glancing at Lance who was sleeping starfish mode on the couch where Dael had left him to rest hours earlier. Keith stared a second too long and decided to focus on the rest of the room instead of the Altean drooling all over the cushion.

 

In front of the couch and pushed against the staircase was the TV, a gigantic screen that looked like a window opening on a black hole. Under it, a small bookcase with more potted plants. To be exact, the entire house seemed filled with plants, and it was probably what helped him with his claustrophobia. It almost felt like he was outside, except that it was warmer and it smelled better.

 

"Dude, can you stop rummaging around ?" Lance's sleepy voice rumbled. "Are you nocturnal or something ?"

 

Keith grunted back as he sat against the bay window, leaning on the glass and taking in the cold of the night. After a few seconds, he heard Lance shift again.

 

"Keith, seriously. Go to sleep. Whatever you're doing can wait tomorrow."

 

He made a point of not obeying immediately, but he eventually stepped away from the window and climbed on the couch, at the exact opposite of where Lance was lying. The latter already was sound asleep once again, and for a second Keith felt jealous of him. For a second only. He remembered with a groan the he knew nothing about him, which was pretty normal all considered, but he couldn't decently feel jealous. He was rescued from a kennel, Lance had said. Keith had no idea what a kennel was supposed to be, but it didn't sound appealing.

 

He wiggled, feeling still uncomfortably jittery and alert, until Lance's foot hit him across the face.

 

"Ow, what the fuck !"  
"If you don't stop this instant," the Altean hissed, sounding utterly pissed, "I swear I'll shove you in a closet for the night. Stop moving around."

 

Keith huffed and shoved the other's foot away, crossing his arms defensively on his chest. Lance, though, didn't lay back down. Instead, he sighed and scooted closer.

 

"What do you think you're doing," Keith spat, instinctively climbing on the back of the sofa.  
"Sleeping next to you, obviously," the other replied as he forced him back down.  
"But. Why ?"  
"Because you're in a new place with a Gean sleeping not so far away and you have nowhere to hide. Believe me, I know the feeling."

 

Keith scowled but let Lance guide him in the middle of the couch, yelping in surprise when he got something dumped on him.

 

"Hey..!"  
"Calm down, it's just a blanket."  
"A blan- Lance, it's April and I'm covered in fur," Keith pointed out exasperatedly.  
"It's not for warming up, dummy, it's to weight on you."

 

Keith could almost feel the boy roll his eyes, almost.

 

"Why," he sighed, suddenly very tired of asking the same question over and over again.  
"It'll help," Lance simply replied as he rolled on his side, grabbing the pillow he's been drooling on. "Okay, now we sleep."

 

Keith was about to protest, first because Lance was way, way too close to him for his liking, and second because he didn't actually want to sleep. He wanted to look around, explore everywhere for anything useful. But here he was, buried under a thick blanket that somehow wasn't turning him into a living roast, wondering when his life went out of the window.

 

He didn't even realize he fell asleep until the next morning, when Lance shook him awake for breakfast.


	4. Chapter 4

The second floor, Keith quickly learned, was for play time and cleaning time. Even if he had a vague idea of what it was supposed to mean, it didn't stop him from being unprepared for the treasures hidden all around the floor.

 

"And this," Lance spun happily on his wheels while wildly gesturing at a large plastic tub, "is filled with warm water once a week. And you can actually get in it to wash yourself !"  
"Why ?" Keith asked, like it wasn't the fiftieth time the word passed the barrier of his lips and didn't start to slowly lose any meaning.  
"You have so much to learn, buddy," Lance tsked playfully before pulling him around once again, without really answering his question.

 

Keith has never been more confused in his life. The whole experience of living in a Gean's house was confusing, if he was completely honest.

 

"And here's the playground," Lance distantly continued, still holding him by the wrist. "I don't come up there as often, now, but it's still great to pass the time."

 

Keith's ears peaked up as he looked around with detached interest. The room was bright and colorful : there were two large beanbags lying in a corner and more pillows than he could count on his fingers, wood platforms screwed on the wall going around the room at different highs and connected to each other by small bridges, foam balls, fidget and rubber toys, tall and small chairs, blankets, abandoned ribbons...

 

It was a lot to take in.

 

"What do you do with all of this ?" he hummed.  
"I mostly run around and chase after stuff."  
"...So you're hunting... squeaky toys."  
"Not _hunting_ , obviously," Lance rolled his eyes, "It's not like we need to hunt to survive anymore, with all the food stored in the fridge. But, y'know, it helps keeping reflexes sharp."  
"I still don't get it."  
"It's just for fun, Keith."

 

Keith blinked. Lance blinked back.

 

"But," the Galra tried again, "How does that make you survive ?"  
"Oh my god, Keith."

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

So, no, Keith didn't get it. Lance tried to explain, tried to show him why squeaky toys and blanket piles and connected shelves were so nice, but Keith just didn't get it. It wasn't useful. It wasn't essential, it wasn't helpful. There was no purpose, no goal behind it. It was just here for "fun". But that was it.

 

Lance eventually gave up, showed him the last staircase that lead to Dael's bedroom then went back downstairs to enjoy the sun through the window. Keith decided to explore some more the first floor. He was in the middle of inspecting the content of a drawer in the bathroom when Dael appeared in their stupidly-bright-shirt glory, their laptop under one of their left arms, an empty coffee mug in the other and a silent question on their face.

 

And maybe it was the smell of coffee - Keith didn't have some in soooo long - and the prospect of something to eat. Maybe it was the way the Gean held themself, limp and tired but open, objectively curious to know what he could have found so interesting inside a washcloth's drawer, and just generally non-threatening, but... Keith decided it was time to stop hiding. Dael proved themself not to be a danger, at least not directly. If he still didn't trust them, it was time to admit that they weren't out to hunt him down.

 

He closed the drawer and followed Dael in the kitchen.

 

The Gean probably noticed him ogling regularly the coffee machine, or the coffee mug, or anything coffee related, because after a couple of days Keith found himself with a small cup full of it, waiting for him on the small table in the corner of the kitchen.

 

His ears twitched and he stood in the door frame for a second, wondering when would the other shoe drop, but then he noticed that Dael and Lance were already sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast, and he had to remind himself that - despite what his family always repeated to him, despite any common sense, despite _every goddamn thing_ \- he was safe. So he sat down at the table, grabbed the warm cup and curled around it. In front of him, Lance smiled lazily, the end of an applesauce pouch still in his mouth.

 

"Morning," he whispered, like he was trying not to break the silence.  
"Morning," Keith whispered back, heat transferring from the coffee to his cold hands, before offering : "Want some ?"  
"Nah," Lance all but purred, his face propped in his hand, golden marks shining, looking half-way back to sleep already. "All yours."

 

Keith sipped his beverage, eyes fixed on a spot somewhere above the Altean's left ear. There was a comfortable silence filling the room, barely interrupted by a yawn every now and then. Keith wondered what day it was. Then wondered when was the last time he worried about the date. Never, probably.

 

"What day is it ?" he eventually asked, and Lance looked at the calendar on the wall above Keith's head.  
"Sunday. Why ?"  
"Nothing. I don't know why I asked."

 

Lance hummed and doze off again.

 

"Hey, wanna go in the garden later ?" he hummed at some point, still looking completely out of it.  
"Sure," Keith replied.

 

Dael yawned from the big table and opened a book, visibly planning to stay there for at least the rest of the morning. Keith wondered if they ever worked. He had no idea what was considered a normal job for Geans. He had no idea what was normal for Geans in general.

 

Keith realized that despite knowing almost everything about surviving, he impressively knew nothing about living.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

It took him a little more than two weeks to deliberately seek physical contact from the other two. Dael was always delighted to see him come to sit, grumpily, next to them on the couch, and never spared their efforts to pet him.

 

In the other hand, Lance liked to be pet as much as he liked to pet him. Late at night, when Keith was very much restless and insomniac, he would scoot closer and drag his fingers through the purple strands, massaging his head and neck and counting it a victory whether Keith fell asleep or started purring. And the Galra would do the same, whenever they would nap together and Lance's head would find its way onto Keith's lap, and Keith's fingers somehow lost themselves through the Altean's short hair.

 

Keith liked that. Or, more accurately, he needed that. The physical proximity. The contact. The mere concept of sleeping or eating or just walking around with someone. It felt like forever since he had anything like that, even if logically it only had been a matter of months since he'd been picked up in the street. He missed sleeping on roofs with Shiro and Lotor. He missed playing around with Axca and Krolia. He missed his family, so what if Lance was the closest thing he had to an actual friend ? It didn't matter anymore that Lance was Altean. He couldn't even remember why it was an issue in the first place.

 

Lance was annoying most days and chatted way too much, but he was nice to be around. He was patient, despite the fact that Keith was slow at understanding how things worked. He was passionate, always ready to share whatever discovery he did that day with him, because he knew he would listen.

 

So yes, maybe Lance wasn't Shiro. Maybe Lance wasn't Lotor, or Axca, or his mom. But Lance was here while none of them was. Lance was a maybe-friend. But Lance was all Keith had right now. Maybe it was enough.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

As the weather warmed up, Dael made them wear thinner clothes. The sleeves got shorter, the legs of their pants rolled up. Without socks to mutter the sound, Keith's claws clicked on the flooring. Lance tended to lay more often on the ground, taking in the coolness of the kitchen tiles when it was too warm to be comfortable. Keith, despite being the one with the fur, was less annoyed by the sudden temperatures of the two.

 

"It's supposed to be May, what the fuck," Lance growled one day, sprawled across the kitchen floor, while Keith was sitting under the big table to seek some darkness. "It's way too hot in here."  
"There's water on the table," the Galra mumbled, eyes half-closed to protect them from the excessive light. "Also we should probably open a window."  
"By all means, if you reach them, please do."

 

Dael's voice resonated from somewhere in the house, then closer when they entered the kitchen. Lance squawked indignantly when they almost walked on him, but then he was on his feet and pulling Keith out of his hideaway.

 

"Nooo," the latter muttered. "I had a good spot."  
"Let's go in the garden," Lance just said, guiding him across the living room when it became obvious, by the way he was blinking, that he couldn't see much.  
"It's too bright outside," Keith complained before almost leaping under the closest lounge chair.

 

He hid there for a couple of minutes, already falling back asleep, when Lance's sudden burst of laughter made him look up. There was a pressure noise, Dael laughing, Lance yelping again... Keith squinted suspiciously at the two of them, running around in the back of the garden. Dael was holding something in their hands, like a long tube of some sort and... Ah.

 

"Keith ! Come on, play with us !" Lance came running, drenched from head to toe, hair curling randomly and white shirt sticking to his frame. Keith felt too hot in his own skin. Being attacked by a garden hose didn't sound as bad suddenly.  
"It's too bright," he repeated instead, because despite everything he still couldn't see much with his sensitive eyes.  
"... I have an idea," Lance said before sprinting inside the house, bringing dirt in the living room.

 

He returned with what were probably Dael's sunglasses, way too big and with too many lenses, but Keith felt oddly touched. Hours later, when the sun was way lower, the three of them were exhausted from running everywhere and chasing after the water jet, they finally came back inside and let the Gean dry them both with a fluffy towel and force them into clean clothes. They ate, Dael went to bed, Lance untangled Keith's hair until late.

 

And Keith wondered if he really wanted to go away anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

"Have I told you how ridiculous your claws are ?"

 

Lance sighed and put down his book down.

 

"They're nails, not claws. And yes, you did. Twice. Today. It's not even noon."  
"They're just- So weird !" Keith exclaimed, looking at his friend upside down, before attempting to roll on his stomach and almost falling down the couch. "You can't even cut things with them. So useless."  
"Your face is useless," the Altean grumbled.

 

Keith made a small noise. It became usual banter, playful back-and-forth between the two of them. He liked that, the feeling of normality coming from Lance. He liked that he could rile him up in a couple of sentences, and that it was also true the other way around. It didn't always work, though.

 

"Well, I'm going upstairs," Lance, in fact, hummed as he put the book back in its place in the TV's cabinet.  
"A'ight," Keith mumbled with no intent of moving at all, because the sun was hitting him _just right_ and it would be a shame to lose all that warmth.

 

Lance made a face and disappeared in the staircase, footfalls light despite the creaky steps. Keith probably fell asleep, then, but he really couldn't tell.

 

Given the occasion, a grown-up Galra would sleep for twelve hours a day. Keith himself only needed a little less than ten hours to be completely recharged, but the relative safety of the house allowed him to be a little greedy and nap every now and then.

 

Obviously, it wasn't all he did : most off his days were about chasing Lance for random reasons, run up and down the stairs, climb Dael when he was in the mood for it, try to find the highest point in the house to jump from - much to Dael's dismay - or spend a scandalously great amount of time petting and being pet.

 

But Keith liked napping the best. He would just close his eyes and all the worries, all the anxiety sitting on his stomach would just disappear and let him breathe. Sometimes there would be slender fingers running in his hair and scratching his ears, or giant hands ruffling his fur just the way that made him purr.

 

It wasn't any of those hands that woke him up, but the unusual noise coming his way. He distantly heard the front door unlock, then too many feet in the hallway, and then a loud, exited shrill that bored into his sensitive ears. He jumped, suddenly hyper-aware of his environment, just in time to avoid a tiny Gean running his way, making grabby hands.

 

He hissed and climbed his way out of dodge on top of the book case. A second Gean entered, their tone reproving, probably lecturing the young one. Then Dael came into the room and Keith never felt so relieved to see them. They started to laugh once they localized him, so loud that tears appeared in their four eyes, and eventually extended a couple of hands to help him.

 

Keith, very carefully, climbed his way down and onto Dael's embrace, only to perch himself on their shoulders as soon as the youngling made as much as a movement in his direction. Dael laughed louder. Keith hissed again.

 

"Tili !"

 

Lance zoomed in the room and launched himself in the little Gean's arms, the latter making delighted sounds as they spun the both of them around. Keith, obviously, didn't dare getting any closer.

 

"What the quiznak is that ?!"

 

Lance chuckled as he got back on the ground, a little wobbly on his long legs after so much spinning. Then, once he was stable enough, he extended his hands for Dael to pick him up, so he could be face to face with the Half-Galra.

 

"That's Tili !" he explained cheerfully, smiling from ear to ear and positively glowing. "They're Dael's nibling ! They're an absolute sweetheart, you're gonna love them !"  
"Hey, no, nononono," Keith protested when the Altean tried to pull him down, "I'm not getting anywhere near that thing."  
"It's not a thing," Lance rolled his eyes, "It's a kid. And they're super nice, I swear."

 

But no matter how hard her tried to bribe Keith, the other refused to get down from his spot on Dael's shoulder. Somehow, the sawtooth mouth was creepier on Tili than it was on Dael, or whoever was the other adult Gean in the room. They all migrated to the kitchen, Keith still secured out of reach, and Lance almost buzzing with excitement next to Tili. He made the effort to at least seat at the small table with the Altean, only to zoom out of the room when the kid tried to sit with them. Lance laughed at him all afternoon, and was still grinning later that evening when Tili and Ree - Tili's parent, Dael's sibling as it seemed - left.

 

They were curled up in one of the bean bags in the playground when Lance started nagging at him again.

 

"I can't believe you got scared out of your fur by a _child_ ," he chuckled as Keith was doing his best to erase the unfamiliar scent from Lance by rubbing himself all over him.

 

The Galra glared at him and pressed two fingers in his ribs, making him jolt away with an outraged squawk.

 

"I wasn't scared," Keith protested, ignoring Lance as he grimaced and rubbed his sore side. "But they were all over the place and so loud, I swear, I never heard anyone being so annoyingly high-pitched."

 

The Altean shrugged and slouched back in the other's lap.

 

"That sounds like me, and it doesn't seem to pester you all that much."  
"Not the same. Absolutely not the same."  
"How is it any different ?"  
"First of all, I understand when you talk," Keith pointed out, which, fair, "plus, you don't run to me out of nowhere to hug me."

 

Lance looked up. Keith looked down. Lance arched an eyebrow.

 

"...I do. That's not a valid argument."

 

Keith flicked his nose, annoyed.

 

"You know what I mean."  
"Yeah, I know," the other replied, his tone unexpectedly soft.

 

He then proceeded to twist around to hug Keith. The Galra took a second to lean in. Eventually, when the grip around him released, he fell back on the bean back, Lance still sprawled on his lap.

 

"What was that for ?"

 

Lance shrugged.

 

"I felt like it."

 

Keith stared at him.

 

"O...kay ?"  
"Next time, just stick with me. I swear on my honor, I'll protect you from Tili's tiny fingers."


End file.
